IF THE PHRASE “MALE A CAPPELLA GROUP” CONJURES UP AN IMAGE OF STUDENTS IN BLUE BLAZERS, TIES, AND KHAKIS SINGING TRADITIONAL COLLEGE SONGS ON IVIED CAMPUSES… THINK AGAIN.
Look up “holiday music” in the dictionary, and it’s likely that there is a photo of the nine-person a cappella group Straight No Chaser instead of a standard definition. For more than two decades, the group has provided the soundtrack of the season, bringing millions of fans to their feet while putting them in the holiday spirit. Year after year, fans anxiously await the moment they can officially hit play on Straight No Chaser favorites.
And this year is no different.
Straight No Chaser is back on tour, serving up an all-you-can-eat buffet of holiday music (with none of the calories) as they cross the U.S. from October through December.
The nine-man act of Walter Chase, Jerome Collins, Seggie Isho, Michael Luginbill, Steve Morgan, Jasper Smith, Randy Stine, Tyler Trepp and Freedom Young has served as a festive blend of harmonious voices for more than two and a half decades, having recently celebrated their 25th anniversary. Even though the group has been together for a quarter of a century, the thrill of performing holiday songs for old and new fans alike is not lost on them.
“Christmas is so awesome, and we are blessed to get to celebrate with people across the country 60 times over the holiday season,” Steve says. “Performing at shows where we see people run the gamut of emotions from laughter to tears, and seeing families come together to savor the season, it’s a fantastic gift for us each night!”
Thankfully, the SNC holiday tour is a gift that requires no wrapping and one that everyone delights in sharing. To date, the band has sold more than three million albums worldwide, sold more than 1.5 million tickets worldwide, earned 100 million+ YouTube views, and racked up over one billion streams.
Alongside their successful headlining tours, the group has had dozens of major television performances and collaborated with artists such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Their most recent album, Yacht on the Rocks, even included a collaboration with Toto’s David Paich. In addition, two of their eight LPs, Holiday Spirits and Christmas Cheers, have been RIAA-Certified Gold.
For the group, the holidays and the annual fall tour are shared experiences with their fans (affectionately known as “Chasers”), acknowledging tried-and-true traditions while simultaneously introducing the excitement of novelty. Their road to success, after all, can be attributed to the success of one of their holiday songs.
Straight No Chaser was originally formed at Indiana University in the mid-’90s. The group reunited and gained new momentum in 2006 when Randy Stine uploaded their 1998 performance of “The 12 Days of Christmas” to YouTube to share some college nostalgia with friends. What happened next was a level of success that few people could have predicted, least of all, the nine members of Straight No Chaser.
For the next decade, audiences watched as the group put a cappella on the map–bursting on the scene before pop culture phenoms like “The Sing Off” and “Pitch Perfect.” They were signed to Atlantic Records, developed a robust fan base through touring, and sold out venues. Their star is constantly on the rise, as Straight No Chaser continues to achieve new milestones with every tour run, EP and album release and TV performance.
Year after year, the group aims to keep fans entertained and inspired. There are no cookie-cutter shows here; each concert serves up a healthy dose of banter between the band members, flawless harmonies, and a blend of old and new music. Isn’t that what makes the holidays special–achieving the perfect balance of old and new?
Throughout the tour, the band’s set list will include mega-successful holiday hits from their previous releases, including Holiday Spirits (2008), Christmas Cheers (2009), Under the Influence: Holiday Edition (2013), I’ll Have Another…Christmas Album (2016), Social Christmasing (2020) and Stocking Stuffer (2023).
In the midst of a season filled with seemingly endless to-dos, fans are sure to feel a sense of fun and escapism that have consistently served as familiar themes of Straight No Chaser’s music.
One thing is for sure: The band will wow audiences at their live shows, from the first scent of pumpkin spice in October all the way through the anticipation of champagne bubbles to ring in the new year.
